Oh the Things we could Do Oneshots
by FirstFandomFangirl
Summary: The Extra Content for Oh the Things we could Do, by popular request. Oneshot collection, some now take place after Oh the Places we'll Go. Used to be random drabbles, now gaining more structure.
1. History

**LOOK GUYS, CONTENT!**

 **So, uh... don't expect these to be posted in any sort of chronological order. They'll be written when I get ideas for them, I guess.**

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History / family(?) / Rated K

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History

"Morro, you're going to learn how to read." Lydia announced, marching into the living room and slapping a thick book down on the table next to him. The ex-ghost slowly rolled over on the couch to face her, raising an eyebrow.

"Why?"

"It's a basic life skill. I'm not going to carry your butt financially your entire life." She pointed a finger at him. "Besides, you have to read this." She tapped the book, and he sat up on the couch to squint at it. A thick, black, leather-bound book with some words and the image of a cross on the front.

"What is it?"

"It's called the Bible. It's kind of… history, sort of." She shook her head. "It's important."

"Why?"

"Reading this helps determine where your soul goes if you're not cursed. Either Heaven, eternal joy, or Hell, eternal suffering." Morro blinked.

"I'm pretty sure hell is a curse word."

"Don't get smart with me." She sounded serious, so he stopped.

"Alright, fine. I'll learn to read. When do we start?"

"Now. On your feet." She snapped her fingers and grabbed the book, and he rolled off the couch, landing in a crouch and standing up. "Come on, we're going up to my room. And," She added as his feet dragged. "Additional incentive: If you don't read this and believe it, we're not allowed to date."

"What? Why?" He hurried after her as she climbed the stairs. "What do you mean 'believe it'? Isn't history facts?"

"Ehh, well… there are people who interpret this differently… because they don't want to follow a specific set of rules."

"Okay…" He drawled as he followed her up the stairs. "Can't you just read it to me?"

"Look at this." She stopped at the top of the stairs, turning around and flipping through the huge book. "Assuming I read to you for an hour a day, it would take about… a year. To get through it all." Morro winced.

"As opposed to me reading it on my own…?"

"Well, that way it only takes up an hour of _your_ life, not both of ours." Morro scowled, but she went on. "But I'll probably end up reading with you anyway. It is kind of confusing in parts."

"I grew up with _Wu_. I think I'm good as far as 'confusing'"

"Well, you'd be surprised." Lydia lead him into her room, then plopped down on the floor. "Sit." She ordered, and he obeyed.

"I hope you know what you're doing." He commented mildly.

"I taught Nya how to read English. As long as you're as smart as Nya, we shouldn't have any problem." Morro snorted.

"I'm _smarter_ than Nya." Lydia blinked.

"I don't think there's any point in arguing that with you, so let's just say we're good then." The brunette grabbed a stack of paper from next to her, then scribbled on it for a moment before showing it to him. "The written English language is made up of blocks called letters." She started. "Each letter makes a different sound. These sounds are put together to make words. For example:" She tapped a sideways half-circle. "C. It makes a "kh" sound." She tapped an upside-down V with a line through the middle. "A. It makes an "ah" sound." She touched a line with another line on top. "T. It makes a "tuh" sound."

"So… kh-ah-tuh. Wait, cat?" Lydia nodded.

"You picked that up fast."

"Faster than Nya?" Morro raised an eyebrow.

"I don't know. I taught her the alphabet first."

"The what?"

"The letters. There are 26 of them."

"I have to memorize 26 sounds?"

"Well, a lot of multiple sounds they make."

"What?"

History

"I am _not_ singing a song about the English alphabet."

"You gotta."

"Nope. I refuse." Morro crossed his arms and turned away.

"It'll help you remember them! That's how I learned to read!"

"You were a kid! I'm… 17ish!"

"You're like 14."

"I am not." A knock on the door interrupted their bickering, and neither spoke for a moment before Lydia called,

"Come in!" The door squeaked open, and Karen poked her head in, wild hair hiding half her face. "Hi." Lydia greeted her, and she padded into the room, sinking down next to Morro and grabbing a piece of paper and a pencil. She scribbled on it for a moment before shoving it at Morro, and he frowned.

"She's teaching me how to read English." He answered her apparent question. She scribbled something else, then showed him again. "She says your siblings keep attacking her, and she wants to know if there's way to make her hair more manageable without cutting it off." He translated to Lydia. "Which I understand. I like my hair too." He ran a hand through it. Lydia frowned.

"I dunno. I just put my hair in a ponytail to keep it back, but you have… a lot more hair than me." Karen sighed, nodding. "But for now I can brush it, at least. Come over here." The former ghost pushed her hair out of her face, scooting over towards Lydia as the brunette grabbed a hairbrush from a shelf. "Going back to our previous conversation, Morro," she started as she began working the tangles out of Karen's hair. "I guess you don't have to sing the song, but if you don't have the alphabet memorized by tomorrow then I'm gonna make you learn it."

"You suck." Morro muttered, snatching up the paper she had written the alphabet on and glaring at it.

"Nya learned it in two hours." Lydia remarked coolly. "But, then again, she wasn't too chicken to learn the song." She then had to duck as a wadded-up piece of paper was hurled at her head. "Morro, I'm trying to brush Karen's hair."

"Then stop mocking me."

"I'm not mocking you."

"You- what do you call that, then?"

"Teasing?"

"Same thing!" Letting out a frustrated breath, Kareen snatched up a paper and pencil again, hastily drawing some Asian-style characters and shoving it at Morro. The wind master skimmed the page, then his eyes widened in offense.

"Hey!"

"What's it say." Lydia asked, monotone.

"She says "I liked it better when you were lovesick fools"! We weren't ever lovesick fools!" Karen threw both hands up in the air in a 'duh' gesture.

"It's easier to fight when the fate of the universe isn't hanging in the balance, I guess." Lydia sighed, scowling as she yanked at a particularly nasty tangle. "Now that we're not worried for each other's safety."

"I guess. I'm sorry for being difficult." Morro offered.

"And I'm sorry for being bossy. I was just trying to be teasing, but… I guess not." Karen closed her eyes and pressed her hands together, as if to say 'all is right in the world again'.

"Kiss and make up?" Morro suggested.

"I can't, I'm busy." Lydia protested, tugging the brush through Karen's hair.

"Fine." Morro scooted closer, then leaned over and kissed her cheek. Karen made the 'duh' gesture again. Lydia, blushing, pretended not to notice, immersing herself in brushing Karen's long hair. "Now, what's this letter again?"

"Huh?" The brunette glanced over to see him pointing at R. "That's R. Makes an 'rrrrr' sound."

"And this?"

"T. 'tuh' sound."

"So, tea, the kind you drink, is just written with this one symbol?"

"No, tea is spelled t-e-a."

"That makes… no sense. How inefficient."

"Yeah, I know."

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 **~FFF**


	2. Rules

**ok guys I apologize for not updating ANYTHING I was trying? to write a second part for Not Bright Enough? But I ended up spending 3 days writing another part and then really just... Not Liking It and ditching it and wasting 3 days of my life sorry**

 **Review replies:**

 **Ebony: the alphabet is stupid**

 **KaiIsAwesome: Aw same man! :D I really like Romans too, it's just... it gives me hope.**

 **Aurro sister of Morro: No problem *insert hearts here***

 **Spottedfrost: English just got roasted**

 **Emperor** **Penguins: Yes they can! Morro has the Realm Crystal, that's how he got back to Earth. I plan to write a oneshot where they go back and like... confirm to the ninja that Lydia is Okay and stuff so you can look forward to that**

 **: Sorry this is late |D**

 **Candaru: consider: lydia gets frustrated with trying to teach him and cries and he sings the song to make her feel better**

 **Plumcide: It kinda is, I think, maybe? but it is an actual rule, if Morro doesn't become a Christian Lydia's not allowed to date/marry him and that would break her heart so she is being kinda aggressive**

 **Bookkeeper: AW I REALLY LIKE BOTH OF THOSE but im gonna go with MortalWind**

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Rules

"So, I'm sorry, let me get this straight," Dad pressed a hand to his forehead. "You... want to date a boy, who you met in the past six months, while you were _here,_ but you weren't here, you were in another dimension, which you escaped from two weeks ago and woke up here." Lydia nodded.

"I mean, I wouldn't use the word 'escaped', I was really kicked out back here against my will, but otherwise yeah."

"And not only do you want to date him," Dad continued, "But you want him, and his friend, a woman who used to be a giant, soul-eating monster, to be able to stay here, with us, long term." Lydia nodded again.

"Also pretty much accurate." Dad threw his hands up in the air.

"Absolutely not! I'm not letting two perfect strangers stay in my house!"

"But they're not perfect strangers to me!" Lydia protested. "And they don't have anywhere else to go! They used to be ghosts, the people of Ninjago could kill them just for what they used to be!"

"I'm sorry, ghosts? Ninjago? When did we start talking about your cartoons?"

"Since the beginning of the conversation! Morro and Karen are the villains from season 5!"

"What?"

"I know it doesn't make any sense, but its true!"

"That's impossible!"

"I know! Still true." Lydia groaned. "Would you believe me more if Morro showed you his powers?"

"I... guess?" Turning around, Lydia yelled,

" _MORRO!_ " A couple moments passed, then the wind master rounded the corner.

"Hey sweetheart." Dad bristled. Lydia ignored him.

"My dad doesn't believe you're an elemental master. Can you show him?" Shrugging, Morro waved a hand, and a light breeze floated down the hall. Dad didn't look impressed.

"Is that it?" Morro's eyes narrowed, and he threw another gust, this one nearly knocking Lydia's dad to the ground.

"I was _trying_ to be polite." The ex-ghost muttered, shoving his hands in his pockets as Dad stumbled back. "But if you're gonna be like that..."

"I don't like your tone." Dad snapped, straightening up.

"No offense, sir, but that doesn't matter to me. After all, you're not _my_ dad... yet." He winked at Lydia, who blushed.

"I don't know what you see in him." Dad gave Lydia a side-eyed look, and she looked away.

"You want a list?"

"No. I just want to know one thing: Is he a Christian?" Lydia sighed.

"No. There's no Bible in Ninjago. But that's the first thing he's going to read, once I… teach him how to." Morro gave her a quizzical look, but didn't ask. Dad was silent for a long time. Finally, he said,

"Let me talk to Morro alone." Lydia swallowed, but nodded, prompting Morro to follow as her dad walked away. Slowly, she headed back towards the living room where Karen was waiting.

The dark-haired woman looked up as Lydia entered the room, tilting her head a bit.

"I don't know if you can stay yet." The brunette reported. "My dad is talking to Morro. Which is… a good sign, I guess." Karen nodded, frowning a bit. "So all we can do is wait." Lydia plopped down on the couch next to her. There was silence for a few moments, and it occurred to Lydia that Karen was incapable of starting a conversation, so she took it upon herself to do so.

"So… are you adjusting to being human okay? Do you need something to eat or drink?" Karen frowned, lifting her hand to her chin, then nodded. "Okay. Come with me." The brunette stood again, leading Karen towards the kitchen. "Have you eaten anything since you were turned human?" Lydia asked, taking a knife and sawing a slice of bread off the most recent loaf. Karen nodded, then held up her fingers a couple inches apart. A little.

"Mmm." Lydia stuck the bread in the toaster. Karen leaned close, eyes narrowed in confusion as the bread toasted, then jerked back in alarm as it popped up. Lydia smothered a giggle. Karen probably wouldn't appreciate being laughed at. As she pulled out the toast and put in on a plate, opening the fridge to get the jam out, she heard a yell.

" _Lydia!_ " She cringed. Dad.

"Just a sec!" She yelled back, slathering jelly over the break before handing the plate to Karen. "Toast." She announced before hurrying off in the direction from which the voice had come.

She found her dad and Morro waiting in the living room, her dad not looking quite as frustrated with her as he had a few minutes before. Morro was standing next to him, looking disinterested.

"I've decided to let them stay for a little while, at least." Dad announced. "If they behave, I'll think about letting them stay longer." Lydia clapped her hands together, bouncing up and down on her toes.

"Yes!" She cheered. Two seconds later, she turned to glare at Morro. "You'd _better_ behave, because if you get kicked out I swear-"

"When do I _not_ behave?" Morro interrupted, pressing a hand to his chest in a hurt gesture.

"Is that a serious question?"

" _But,_ " Dad interrupted. "You're not allowed to date." Lydia blinked.

"Okay." Morro raised an eyebrow at her suspicious lack of a reaction. "But you're not going to kick them out?"

"Not immediately."

"Great. Morro, you can probably just pick a couch to sleep on, we've got several. As for Karen, she can probably stay in the little girls' room, I think we have another bed lying around somewhere."

"And why don't I get a bed?"

"I don't trust you around my siblings." Morro clutched at his chest in mock offense.

"That's hurtful."

"Well, Karen can't talk, so she really can't be a bad influence on them." Lydia shrugged, walking away. "Thanks, Dad."

"Right." Dad walked off, and Lydia stepped over to pat Morro on the arm.

"Don't take it personally. They didn't let me date my last boyfriend either."

"Wait, then you weren't… what?" He frowned and she gave him a cheeky grin. "Are you suggesting we go behind their backs and date?"

"What is 'dating', really?" Lydia gave him an exaggerated shrug, turning away. "Kissing? Well, we wouldn't be allowed to do that anyway. Complimenting each other? Nope, that's a friend thing. Constantly teasing one another/getting on each others' nerves? I think that falls into the sibling category, actually." She frowned. "Well, anyway, we don't have to date, we can just be friends that are 100% aware of the fact we love each other. That doesn't break any rules. Everyone's happy." Morro rolled his eyes.

"What is with you and finding loopholes?"

"It's one of my strong points." She patted his arm again. "Come on, I'll make you some toast."

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 **not proofread because I am *checks clock* ,,,6 minutes late to go to bed sorry**

 **~FFF**


	3. Safe

**it's nearly midnight but I am starved for attention so please give me reviews in exchange for this Content**

 **Review replies:**

 **Spottedfrost: It's a stretch to even pretend he would tolerate Morro's presence... Morro must've said something pretty clever to get him to go along with that.**

 **NinjagoPotterWarriors etc. : They're doing their best**

 **RandomDragon: Loopholes are my specialty. Also idk if he's more overprotective, or if he's just being a jerk.**

 **Aurro: Aww! :'D I'm glad you enjoy it so much! And yes, I'd be happy to!**

 **Candaru: "making decisions is scary" oh mood - karen being startled by the toaster was the Best part of the oneshot**

 **Bookkeeper: I'm gonna say yyyeeaaahhhhh? I'm tired asfhsjfh**

 **NOT proofread because it is 11:48 PM please forgive me**

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Lloyd was really very confused over the fate of Ninjago.

Morro and Lydia had left to 'reason with' the Preeminent, and they never came back. After days of waiting, Sensei Wu managed to locate a pot of Traveler's Tea, and they got their entire party back to Ninjago. To their surprise, the Realm was... no longer cursed? There were still tons of ghosts running around, but the sky was no longer dark, and the Preeminent was gone. It wasn't hard for the water masters to kill the remaining ghosts (except Bansha), and bring Ninjago back to its' original state. Morro and Lydia, however, were nowhere to be found.

All of the ninja were confused, and Bansha especially so. She told them that her link to the Preeminent was gone. Had they _killed_ the Preeminent? And, if so, where were they now? It didn't seem right for them to be dead – or Lloyd was just in denial. But he _really_ hoped they were okay. Lydia especially.

As the immediate danger appeared to be over, Lloyd was released from the hospital and was allowed to return to the Bounty. Bansha, who had requested permission to stay with them, had been given her own room, and so far had caused no trouble. Lloyd was glad that someone had gotten something out of the past month. Other than her, he had a weird feeling that nothing had changed. Everything was pretty much like it was before Lydia's arrival. Excluding his dad, of course.

About a week after Morro and Lydia had vanished, Lloyd was startled from his video game by a loud thump from the deck.

As all the rest of the ninja were out at a fundraiser (that he couldn't go to because his arm was broken), his parents and uncle were on the other side of the ship, and who knew where Bansha was, Lloyd took it upon himself to investigate. It was far too early for the others to be back, he mused as he made his way over to the door. Unless their thing had been canceled. But otherwise, who...?

Before he could open the door, it opened from the outside, and he came face-to-face with Lydia.

"Lloyd!" She exclaimed, throwing her arms around his neck in a tight hug.

"Ow!" he yelped as his broken arm was jarred in its' sling. She quickly let go.

"Sorry, sorry." She apologized, tugging on her hair self-consciously. "I forgot I'm the only one who was magically healed." Lloyd glanced down at her previously-broken leg, noting her standing on it just fine.

"Okay, I'm jealous. How did you manage that?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Cloud Kingdom very helpfully dumped me back in my own world, all effects of this one negated and my family having no memory of me missing. Although, wait, I think my leg actually was fixed when I got hurled into the side of a building." Lloyd stared.

"What?"

"That's a long story."

"Well, tell me! And while you're at it, how did you get the ghosts out of Ninjago? And get it back to normal? What did you and Morro _do?_ "

"Mmm, well... I convinced the Preeminent to got back to her own Realm, and then went to Djinnjago 'cause-"

"Okay, can we go inside? It's raining." A familiar, and mildly annoyed, voice sounded behind Lydia, and Lloyd quickly moved aside as a tall, teenage boy pushed past her and onto the bridge, followed a few moments later, a bit more timidly, by a young woman with _really_ long black hair. Lydia gave him an apologetic look, then followed them in, shaking the water out of her hair. Lloyd frowned, turning around to see the boy flopping over on the couch he had recently vacated, the young woman sitting down next to him and folding her hands in her lap.

"Who... are you two?" The boy sat up to stare at him, looking offended.

"What, you don't recognize me?"

"That's not a bad thing..." Lydia muttered, heading over and sitting down next to the young woman. "This," She gestured to the boy. "is Morro." Lloyd stared.

"Um, didn't he used to be a ghost?"

"Yeahhhh, funny story, that." Morro shrugged, not looking at him. "Lydia's really quite clever."

"I- uh- I guess so?" Lloyd stepped closer. He _did_ look like Morro- same face, same hair, same... everything, he just didn't... feel like Morro. At all. Slowly, his gaze shifted to the young woman. "Who are you, then?" The girl shifted uncomfortably, and Lydia spoke up for her.

"This is Karen. She can't talk."

"Wait." Lloyd put up his good hand. " _Karen?_ As in-"

"The Preeminent." A new voice entered the mix, and Lloyd turned to see Bansha standing in the doorway on the other side of the room, her eyes wide as she stared at the young woman. "That's- that's amazing." The sorceress said in astonishment. "I didn't think you could do it, Lydia."

"Do what? How _did_ you do this?" Lloyd demanded, sinking down in a chair. Lydia opened her mouth to reply, but Bansha did it for her.

"She convinced the Preeminent to return to the Cursed Realm by letting her kill her and read her mind, then traveled to another Realm populated by djinns, and convinced their king that he owed her a great debt and got him to fulfill her wishes without twisting them. She turned herself and Morro back to humans, the Preeminent into a normal woman, and reversed the effects of the Preeminent's cursing Ninjago." Lydia huffed.

"I wanted to tell him."

"Sorry."

"Wait, wait." Lloyd put up a hand again. "You _died?_ "

"It's not that big of a deal." Morro said offhandedly. "Most people in this room have at this point." Lydia let out a bark of laughter.

"That's funny." She said with a straight face. "And yeah, I died. It was pretty much painless, so I don't mind."

"You- you _let_ her kill you?" He cast a glance at Karen, and she looked at the ground.

"I had to. It was the only way she would believe me. Heck, it was my idea." Lydia shrugged. "But now we're all human now so we're cool."

"And you- and you went home?" Lloyd felt a sinking feeling in his chest. If she was going home, that meant... he wouldn't get to see her anymore.

"Yeah." He must have reacted visibly, since her smile faded. "I'm sorry. But I do have to stay for my family's sake."

"No, no, I understand." Lloyd rubbed his forearm. "How did you... get back here?" Morro held up the Realm Crystal.

"Don't worry, it's safe with us. And by that I mean with Lydia." He assured him. "She won't let me do anything fun with it anyway."

"In other news," Lydia said, ignoring him. "Morro acts _way_ more like a bratty teenager now that he's human."

"Hey!"

"Maybe it's his brain reverting back to how an actual teen's works, I don't know exactly how that works for ghosts." Lydia continued. "Anyway, back to the subject of the Realm Crystal, I'll visit from time to time because I'm gonna miss you guys. It won't feel like as long for you because time passes faster there."

"How long are you staying this visit?" Lloyd asked, silently begging she would stay until the others came back. That would give him more time to spend with her.

"I dunno. I told my parents I would be gone all morning, and time passes three times faster there, and it's about four hours 'till noon, so... about an hour and fifteen minutes." His heart sank. "Where are the others, by the way?"

"The rest of the ninja are at a fundraiser until 3 in the afternoon, and my parents and Wu are... in the hold, I think."

"And Bansha..." Lydia trailed off as she turned to look at her. "Do you- do you live with them now?" Bansha nodded.

"They allowed me to stay after sending the rest of the ghosts back to the Cursed Realm."

"That's great!" Lydia broke into a grin. "I'm glad you're okay. All of you. I was worried when Morro said he just left you in the Underworld-" she paused to glare at Morro. "-but I guess you got out okay."

"Yeah, Sensei got some Traveler's Tea." Lloyd nodded. "I don't... suppose you could stay until the others get back? Nya's pretty worried about you..." He added, hoping to guilt-trip her into staying. Lydia pursed her lips.

"My mom's gonna kill me..."

"Can we just come back later in the day?" Morro suggested. "I don't think your mom would mind."

"We'll come back again soon, regardless." Lydia replied. "I don't know if she'll let me come back this evening or not."

"Alright." Lloyd tried not to show his disappointment. "So... you have a little more than an hour?"

"Mm-hmm." The brunette nodded. "I didn't plan any of this beyond hugging you. What do you want to do?" Lloyd grinned at that.

"Um... we could go tell the older people you're alive."

"Sounds smashing. Let's go." Lydia hopped to her feet, followed by Karen, then, more slowly, Morro. Bansha stepped out of the doorway as Lloyd stood as well, leading them through into the hall. Even if it wasn't for good, it was good to have Lydia back.

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 **by the way, if there's anything in particular you want to see, tell me. send me all the requests. i'm begging you.**

 **~FFF**


	4. Storms

**updates? what's that?**

 **Review replies:**

 **Candaru: to be relatable is my greatest aspiration in this world**

 **NinjagoGeek: There are so many options**

 **KitKat: Apparently I'm not good enough at advertising. Also yesssssss but I'll probably wait on writing that for a while? Like, Lydia can't even get married for another... two years or so. There's so much content to be written between now and then.**

 **Aurro: No problem!**

 **Bookkeeper: Thank you!**

 **AFellowNerd: I feel you man, and absolutely! Even if Lydia didn't show Morro and Karen her legos, it would happen eventually anyway, whether they find them on their own or Lydia's older sister showing them in an attempt to embarrass her because that's exactly what she would do.**

 **Marblebird: Just anything you wanna see. Like, if you wanna see Morro having a snowball fight with Karen. Anything at all.**

 **KingOfMusic: Thank you!**

* * *

Storms

Lydia awoke in the middle of the night to a crack of thunder.

Her first instinct was to roll over and go back to sleep, but then a flash of lightning lit up her room, and she realized _wow_ this was a _cool storm_. Now wide awake, she slid out of bed and hurried to the window. Huge bolts of lightning split the sky, the resulting thunder shaking the ground and rain pounding against the roof. Nice. Noting the danger of losing power, Lydia glanced around the room for charging devices. Only after she unplugged her sister's kindle did Lydia remember that she had a boyfriend, and, last time she checked, he was afraid of storms.

Lydia sat down on the edge of the bed, pondering this. With any luck, Morro was sleeping through this, and she didn't want to wake him up if she was. Then again, this was a really loud storm (it woke _her_ up), and Morro was probably way lighter a sleeper than her, so… a good girlfriend would go check on him. After making sure Naomi was still asleep, Lydia tiptoed out of her room and crept down the stairs.

The living room light was on, which was a bad sign, as Morro usually turned it off so he could sleep. As quietly as she could, just in case he'd just forgotten to turn it off or something, Lydia tiptoed over to the doorway and peeked around the corner. Morro was gone, nothing but a crumpled blanket on the couch where he usually slept. Another bad sign. The brunette stood there for a few moments, looking around the room for any sign of him, before taking a breath and calling softly,

"Morro!" For a few moments, there was silence. Then, an answering call came from the hallway.

"Yeah?" She spun around, looking down the dark hall.

"Morro? Where are you?"

"By the basement door." His voice was very low, and very quiet, and she didn't like it. Slowly, Lydia followed his voice down to the bend in the hallway, stopping when she got past it since she didn't want to trip over him in the pitch-blackness. "Where are you?"

"Here." His voice came from a foot away, and his hand brushed her leg. Sinking down to the ground, Lydia reached out in his direction, stopping when she felt her hand hit the fabric of his shirt.

"Are you okay?" She whispered. He gave her a dry chuckle.

"What do you think? I'm sitting, huddled up against the wall, hugging a pillow, as far away from the storm as I can get, because I'm afraid of some loud noises." He pulled away from her touch. "No, I'm just a coward. I'm fine."

"There's nothing to be ashamed of for being afraid of things that won't hurt you." Lydia scooted closer. "I'm terrified of spiders, and I've never even seen one that could actually hurt me. Phobias aren't supposed to be rational."

"That's- that's still not right. My fear of storms _was_ rational- as a kid, and as a ghost, a storm like this could kill me, easily, if I couldn't find shelter. But now I'm human, and I have shelter, and I'm safe, and I'm…" His voice dropped to a mumble. "Still afraid."

"And that's okay." Lydia scooted closer again, feeling around in the darkness for a moment before finding his arm and running her hand up onto his shoulder. "I got my fear of tight spaces from being stuck in a cardboard box for five seconds when I was like seven. That still hasn't gone away. Some fears just… don't. They stick with you your whole life, and that's just a part of being human."

"But it's different for me!" He huffed. "You're a pretty normal person, I'm- I'm an elemental master! I've lead armies, taken Realms! I'm _Morro!_ " He hugged the pillow tighter to his chest. "And I'm scared of some thunder and lightning."

"Everyone's scared of something. Heck, even the _green ninja._ And he's afraid of _more things_ than you."

"But I'm-" Lydia cut him off by throwing her arms around his neck and pressing her lips against his cheek. He held his breath until she pulled away, then inhaled shakily.

"Can we go back to the living room?" She asked before he could say anything. "I'm afraid of the dark."

"Y-yeah, of course." Slowly, Morro got to his feet, Lydia clinging to his arm like she had when she couldn't walk. Once they were both on her feet, Morro lead her out of the darkness of the hallway, and as soon as she could see Lydia noted his downcast, even depressed expression as he clutched his pillow to his chest with his free hand. She _really_ didn't like that.

Morro lead her over to the couch where he slept, sinking down on the cushions and staring at the floor as she sat beside him. As she opened her mouth to say something, lightning split the sky just outside, followed moments later by a peal of thunder that shook the house. Morro squeezed his eyes shut, clenching his teeth as he pressed his hands over his ears. Lydia leaned closer and wrapped her arms around him, burying her face in his shoulder.

"It's okay to be scared." She mumbled into his arm. "But I'm right here, okay? I'm not gonna let anything hurt you." Morro was still for a few moments, then tentatively removed his hands from his ears and hugged her back, holding her tight to his chest. Lydia closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. He smelled like pine. And… tea. The kind Sensei Wu drank.

They sat there on the couch, hugging each other, for a long time, until the storm started to die down. Morro flinched at every crack of thunder, arms tightening around her until she could barely breathe. Finally, as the thunder began to grow farther and farther away, Morro loosened his grip on her, resting his head on her shoulder.

"Thanks." He whispered.

"Mmm." She hummed in reply. Neither of them said a thing as the storm subsided, and, finally, Morro dozed off in her arms, which was really cute but also kinda uncomfortable as he was fairly heavy and was now leaning on her. So, as carefully as she could, she laid him down on the couch, sticking his abandoned pillow under his head.

She started to try to untangle herself from him so she could return to her own bed, but soon gave up, as she was still being held tight. He was more comfortable than her bed anyway. Closing her eyes, Lydia pillowed her head on his chest, and, before long, she had fallen asleep too.

* * *

 **so I can't make any promises as to when I'll update again, but... hopefully soon? ish? same for TDR.**

 **~FFF**


	5. im sorry for this poor quality content

**I swear I'm not completely drained of inspiration it's just that 99% of ideas I have for this universe are better in comic form**

 **Review replies:**

 **Candaru: I don't remember if I answered this in PM or not but no he didn't make tea it's just his Smell (tm)**

 **MarbleBird: Karen and Morro with snow in general is a Good**

 **Ebony: It's unfortunately one of the very few angsty/fluffy oneshots I have ideas for.**

 **Rwbygirl: thank you**

 **RandomDragon: That's... what the heck. Storms every day? where the heck was that?**

 **Aurro: Yeah! I enjoyed writing that :'D**

 **NinjagoPotteretc: Thank you! :'D And awkwardness is like... my least favorite thing to write because I have highkey secondhand embarrassment |'D  
**

 **Spottedfrost: I do my best!**

 **Bookkeeper: thank you!**

* * *

"Hey, Lydia," Morro called across her room thoughtfully, spinning in a slow circle as he sat in a swivel chair. "What the **** is this?"

"Okay, first of all, language." Lydia didn't look up from where she was scribbling on her clipboard.

"No seriously, what _is_ this? It looks like _me._ " _Now_ Lydia looked up, and saw him glaring at her minifigure of him.

"Oh, you found my Legos." She went back to writing.

"Your what? What are these dinky little things?" He tossed the minifig in the air and caught it.

"Do _not_ lose or damage that." She ordered, lifting her gaze from the paper to glare at him. "It's a toy from the TV show I learned about you from. That's you."

"Why is it so _tiny?_ " He squinted at the piece of plastic. "And… rectangular."

"They're all like that. Look." Lydia rolled out of bed, hurrying over to grab a few of the numerous minfigures on her desk. "Look, see, I have six Kais." Morro squinted at the red-garbed ninja, then snorted.

"Six? You and he don't even get along!"

"We do too." She crossed her arms. "And it was unintentional. I just kept… collecting more."

"Whatever. How many of me do you have?"

"One. Well, technically two. Don't give me that look!" She pointed a finger at him as he pressed a hand to his chest. "There's only one variant of you. And this." She plucked her possessed Lloyd off his dragon. "It's you possessing Lloyd." Morro frowned at it.

"Why do you have that? You _hate_ it when I possess Lloyd."

"It came with your dragon." She gestured to the Lego dragon.

"…okay. How many Lloyds do you have?"

"One. Two if you count this." She picked up her Lloyd. "He's adorable. I wish I had more, there are plenty of Lloyds available, but it never has ended up happening." Morro pouted.

"Hmph."

"Don't worry, I love you more." She patted his head. "I've also got three Zanes, a Cole, a Jay, a Nya, both Senseis, Pixal, assorted nindroids, snake people, ghosts, and…" She picked up her Bansha and hugged her to her chest. "…Bansha."

"Remind me why you're so obsessed with Bansha?"

"Gorgeous."

"If I recall correctly, you said that about her way before you saw her without her mask."

"Beauty is deeper than facial features, Morro." She carefully replaced Bansha on the desk. "You, for example. If I was only concerned about your looks, ehh…" She turned and walked away.

"What the **** is that supposed to mean?" he yelled after her.

"Language!" She spun around to glare back at him. "And I'm sorry, I'm just teasing you. You're beautiful." He frowned.

"Uh… thanks?"

"Don't give me that look. You are." She put a hand on her chin, scrutinizing him. "Maybe you should get a haircut."

"Why?"

"Because you look like a girl."

"I do not!" Morro crossed his arms. "That's dumb!"

"Mm-hmm. You know your hair actually grows now that you're human, right?" He blinked.

"Didn't occur to me, no."

"Mm-hmm. You should probably start putting your hair back. Having your hair get in your face every time you move gets old pretty darn fast."

"I guess."

"Besides, I think you'd look good in a ponytail." She reached out and tried to muss his hair, but he swatted her hand away.

"Don't touch my hair." He said sternly.

"Fine, fine." Shrugging, she turned around and sat down on her bed again, resuming her scribbling on her clipboard. Morro was silent for a couple minutes before saying,

"Can I watch the show with me in it?"

"No." Lydia replied automatically.

"Why not?"

"Do you _really_ want to watch yourself make tons of stupid decisions and be a total brat?"

"Why not? Could be interesting." Lydia stared at him for a few moments.

"You know what? Heck. Let's do it." The brunette clapped her hands together, sliding out of bed and grabbing Season 5 from her bookshelf. "Let's do this. Right now. Chop chop let's go." She clapped her hands together again, noting Morro scrambling to follow her as she left the room. "Head to the basement, I'll grab Karen and meet you there."

"Okay. Wait, why her?"

"Why not? She can observe all her mistakes as well." Lydia tromped down the stairs. "Move. I'll be there in a minute."

"Your attitude is a _really_ bad sign." Morro pointed out, rolling his eyes but heading in the direction of the basement. Lydia didn't answer, walking off aggressively. Oh well. He brought this upon himself.

* * *

 **like I said, most ideas I have are best in comic form. which is why, if you subscribe to my p treon, you can see all the comics I draw! :D**

 **translation: give me money I am greedy**

 **~FFF**


	6. pointless self-indulgent fluff

**yall want this trash fluff I wrote at like 1 AM last week**

 **review replies:**

 **Candaru: Remember when I posted every day? that was great**

 **NinjagoPotteretc.: There was a LOT of request for a follow-up fic, so that WILL end up being written, but... take this for now. :P**

 **Kat: That will come! Eventually.**

 **Aurro: I guess? It wasn't the original plan but there's a lot of demand for it haha**

 **Ilovecheetos: I'm glad it's realistic!**

 **SpottedFrost: Okay!**

 **Guest: I hope so.**

 **Lloydninja: Glad you enjoy it!**

 **JustAFemaleGeek: Awww I'm glad you like it!**

 **Not proofread. I'm really tired and I'm gonna get kicked off in like 1 minute.**

* * *

Morro loved his girlfriend, he really did. But even he couldn't deny that Lydia was a very strange young woman.

"Morro, Morro, Morro, Morro, Morro," Lydia chanted, poking him over and over to try and get his attention. "Morroooooo~"

"Hmm?" The elemental master acknowledged her, not looking up from the English book he was studying intently.

"Can I tell you a secret?" Raising an eyebrow, he turned to face her.

"Sure, babe." She leaned close, then whispered in his ear,

"I love you." Then burst into giggles. Morro rolled his eyes.

"Sweetheart, I already knew that."

"I know." She snickered. "I just wanted to remind you."

"Well, I love you too." He blew her a kiss, causing her to giggle harder, before turning back to his book. Lydia giggled for a few minutes longer before falling silent, then sitting down next to the chair he sat on and leaning against his leg. "Lydia, are you okay?" He asked after a minute. "You're acting kinda strange."

"Who knows." Her voice was emotionless.

"Come on, Lydia, what's wrong?" Morro pushed his chair back, sliding off and sinking down to the floor next to her. "You're not normally like this." She shrugged.

"I'm lonely and touch-starved."

"Wh- lonely? You live with…" He paused to count. " _12_ other people!"

"That doesn't stop me from being lonely!" She threw her hands up in the air, and one hit the table he had been sitting at. " _Ow._ " Morro sighed.

"Well, I can probably help with that, anyway. Come here." He held out his arms towards her, and she crawled towards him, letting him pull her into a hug.

"Thank you." She mumbled as he stroked her hair.

"You're a really weird kid sometimes, you know that?" He asked as she closed her eyes and pillowed her head on his chest.

"Yeah." She nodded. "Sometimes I get like this. Mood swings, I guess."

"I guess." He agreed. "Are you going to fall asleep?"

"No, Morro, I'm an insomniac."

"Sometimes you fall asleep in my arms anyway."

"I do? That's odd."

"Very."

"But I don't think I'm sleepy. I'm fairly awake."

"Okay. Do you mind if we go up to the couch so I can practice my reading?"

"Nope."

"Okay." Picking her up, Morro scooted out from underneath the table and stood, sitting down on the couch and catching up his book again. Lydia snuggled into his side, pillowing her head on his chest and closing her eyes. "You look pretty sleepy to me." Morro remarked, trying very hard to focus on his book. It was much harder with his girlfriend sitting halfway on his lap.

"I am." She mumbled. "But I'm sleepy a lot and I still manage to be an insomniac, so… yeah."

"Mmm, okay." The two were silent for a few minutes, Morro putting an arm around his girlfriend at some point. Eventually, he heard her sniffle, and looked down to see her staring dejectedly at the ground. "Lydia, what's wrong?"

"Nothing." She mumbled.

"Come on, what's wrong? Are you lonely?" He prodded, giving her a squeeze. She shook her head.

"I just… really… wish Lloyd didn't love me." She mumbled. Morro blinked.

"Why not? You like him, don't you?"

"Yeah, I _like_ him, but he _loves_ me and I _love_ you. I don't want to make him sad over me." She let out a sad sigh. "I've thought about… trying to set him up with one of my internet friends, but… he's a smart kid, he'd figure it out. And I don't… trust any of my friends to treat him right. He needs someone…" She trailed off, evidently unsure.

"Like you?" Morro supplied. She sighed again.

"Yeah. I wish he didn't, but yeah." She crossed her arms. "And I _like_ him, I _really_ like him, just not… like that."

"I know."

"I want you and him to be friends." She announced, changing the subject.

"Understandable, considering you like us both."

" _Close_ friends."

"Still… understandable, but not as much. Why?" Lydia was at a loss for words for a long time.

"Reasons." She said at last.

"Mm-hmm. Does this have to do with your fanfictions, by any chance?"

"Maybe."

"I thought so. You realize that once I learn to read, nothing can stop me from reading them, right?"

"I can burn them."

"Not the copies on the internet."

"True, I guess. How about my request? It's the only reason my mom hasn't read my fics." Morro raised an eyebrow.

"You don't let your mom read your fanfiction?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because it's stupid! Duh!" Lydia threw her hands up in the air. "She wouldn't think it was stupid. But I think it's stupid, which is why she can't read it. And neither can you."

"Oh, fine. Can I read the one about us?"

"Sure. You practically wrote the thing, anyway. I've forgotten so many details."

"Wonderful. I can't wait to see the sort of things you describe me as."

"What sort of things _do_ I describe you as?" She mused. "'Hot' is the first thing that comes to mind."

"Good. What about Lloyd?"

"'Polite', 'cute', heck you, don't make me think about Lloyd."

"Sorry." He patted her head. "You should sleep. You're loopy."

"Heck you." Was her response, but she pillowed her head on his chest again regardless, closing her eyes. Rolling his eyes at her, Morro lifted his book again, trying once more to focus.

"Oh what the heck." He said at last, tossing the book on the floor. This was hopeless. Lydia blinked up at him.

"Huh?"

"I can't focus like this." Morro wrapped both arms around her and rested his chin on her head. "You tell me to study, then distract me. Thanks a lot."

"Well I'm _sorry_ you're so easily distracted."

"Oh come on, this isn't _my_ fault."

"Ain't mine either. It's not even a bad thing, there's no need to throw blame."

"You know, you're right." The ex-villain closed his eyes. "I'm pretty sure you're gonna fall asleep."

"At this point, me too."

* * *

 **I really hate endings. I just. hate endings. a lot.**

 **~FFF**


	7. Birthday Cake

**In honor of me borth, take this oneshot.**

* * *

Birthday Cake

"This," Morro announced. "Can't get any worse."

"Do _not_ jinx us." Lydia ordered, balancing on one foot as she stood next to the open oven with an egg on her raised foot. Karen, peeking out from where she was hiding in the pantry, mimicked her disapproving look.

"What? It _can't_." Morro huffed.

"It can _always_ get worse." Lydia told him. " _Always."_

 _1 hour earlier_

"Karen. Psst." Morro waved at Karen from around the wall he hid behind. "C'mere." An eyebrow raised, the former ghost queen stepped into the hallway to join him. "I'm gonna make Lydia a cake for her birthday. Do you wanna help?" Karen frowned, scribbled something in Ninjagian on her handy whiteboard, then showed it to him.

" _You can bake?_ "

"I can follow a recipe and measure things and stuff. Lydia's been teaching me." Morro puffed up with pride. "So yes, I can bake. I can make a box mix, anyway."

" _I see. How can I help?"_

"Help me read the recipe, for starters. My English is still rusty. And it'll just go faster with two people." Karen twisted her mouth for a moment, thinking, before nodding.

" _Sure. When do we start?"_

"No time like the present!" Morro gave her a cheeky grin. "But first, I'm going to ask Lydia's mom to distract her. I don't want her to see me making it." Karen nodded, then headed off towards the kitchen while Morro went in search of Lydia's mom.

It was this, as well as various subsequent events, that lead to Morro and Karen staring dismally at the broken egg on the floor ten minutes later.

"…alright, I'll clean it up." Morro said with a sigh after a few moments. "That was my fault, I should have caught that." Karen shook her head sadly, scribbling on the board again.

" _It's just as much my fault, if I'd had known eggs were so fragile I wouldn't have thrown it._ "

"No big deal." Morro waved her off, grabbing a towel and using it to mop up the raw egg. "It's just one egg." He patted the floor a couple times with the towel, then started to hang it back up on its' hook, but decided against it at the last moment and tossed it in the sink instead.

"Give me another egg. And just… hand it to me this time." Meekly, Karen did as she was told. Morro cracked the egg on the side of his mixing bowl, and most of the egg went inside. "Good. Now I need two more." Karen lifted two more eggs from the carton, and Morro took them from her hand with a gust of wind, floating one next to him while taking the other and repeating the process.

"There." He said once they were all in. "Now the oil. Karen, can you fill this measuring cup up with water up to this mark?" He held up the clear container, pointing to a blue dash with '1 ¼' written next to it. She nodded, taking the cup from him and heading over to the dispenser in the fridge while Moro went in search of the vegetable oil.

As Karen stared down the slowly-filling container, Morro located the oil and began to fill a '1/3 cup' measuring cup with it. He got a bit impatient at the end, and spilled some of the greasy liquid on the counter, but got most if it into the bowl without much trouble. As he cleaned up the oil with the egg-soaked towel, he felt a tap on his shoulder, and turned to see Karen holding up the cup of water. "Just pour it in." He instructed, and she nodded, carefully pouring in the water with the other ingredients.

Once they were all in the bowl, Morro announced,

"Lydia taught me how to use the mixer, so this should be easy." And took the beater and accessories out if its' drawer. Karen watched as he assembled it, plugged it into the wall, and turned it on, lowering it into the bowl. As soon as it hit the ingredients, batter flew out of the bowl, splattering both of them with chocolate-egg mixture, and Karen inhaled sharply as Morro quickly turned it off.

"Sorry." He apologized, handing the dark-haired girl a new towel. "I don't know why it did that. It didn't do that when Lydia showed me." After mopping her face off with the towel, Karen took the mixer from him, put it into the batter, then turned it on. No splatter. "Ohhh. Thanks."

Once the batter was mixed, Morro squinted at the box again to see what the next step was.

"It says we need a 'thirteen-x-nine' pan. What's that?" Karen shrugged. "I'll ask. LYDIA'S MOM!" He yelled across the house. After a few moments, he heard an answering call.

"Come over here if you want to talk to me!" Fair enough. Morro signaled for Karen to wait before heading off in the direction the voice had come from, finally locating Lydia's mom in the living room, folding socks.

"What's a thirteen-x-nine pan?" He called as he jogged into the room.

"A 13x9? It's one of the big glass pans, in the back of the pantry on the top shelf. The bigger ones, not the smaller one." The older woman explained.

"Okay. Thanks!" He ran off again. Karen was waiting for him in the same spot when he returned, and he ducked into the pantry, floating himself up to the ceiling so he could reach the heavy glass pan.

"I got it!" He reported as he came out. "Now we gotta pour the batter into it. It's heavy, so I'll do it." Karen crossed her arms. "No offense." She scoffed and turned away. Setting the glass pan down on the counter, Morro picked up the bowl and tipped it over, watching the dark-brown batter flow lazily from one container to the next. Once it had stopped, he took a big spoon and scraped the rest of it out, sticking the spoon into his mouth when he was done.

"Mmm." After glancing at the recipe once more, Morro opened the over door, which was already preheated to 500 degrees, and popped the cake inside. "Now it needs to cook for 35 minutes." He announced, setting up a timer. "Then it'll be done. See? Cake from a box mix, no problem." He held up his hand for a high-five, but Karen just scowled at him. "What?"

" _I didn't get to taste the batter."_ She scribbled angrily. Morro sighed, then got a new spoon and scraped some of the remaining batter onto it, offering it to her. She licked it, then her eyes went wide. Then she high-fived him.

It wasn't until about ten minutes later that things started to go horribly wrong.

Morro was studying the book Lydia had given him intently, sitting on a folding chair with his feet propped up on a desk, when Karen began poking him over and over. The first time, he swatted her hand away, but when she started tugging on his arm he dropped his book to glare up at her.

"What's- oh." He sat up straight, dropping his feet to the floor at the sight of smoke filling the kitchen behind her. "What the- what's happening?" He demanded, standing up and hurrying into the kitchen. The source of the smoke was the oven, and Morro choked on the smoke as he tried to get close.

"Karen, open that window!" He yelled, pointing to the kitchen window with one hand while covering his mouth with his sleeve with the other. Karen obeyed, wrenching the window open, and Morro began blowing the smoke outside. Once he could breathe again, he cracked open the oven door, then recoiled as a wave of heat and smoke hit him. Great. Opening the door the rest of the way with a gust of wind, Morro maneuvered the cake out and onto the stovetop before closing the oven again.

As the smoke cleared, Morro was shocked and dismayed to see that the top of his cake was charred black.

"Oh come on." He muttered, guiding the smoke out the window. "What did I do wrong?"

It was then that the smoke alarm went off.

Morro groaned and covered his ears as the loud, screeching tones filled the house. How the **** did you turn that off?! Karen seemed to be as clueless as he was in that area, since she was squeezing her eyes shut with her hands clamped over her ears.

"What the _heck_ is going on here?!" A loud voice demanded, and Morro let out a sigh of relief as the blaring alarm was turned off. Turning around to face their rescuer, his heart sank as the sight of Lydia. So much for his surprise.

"So, um… explanation?" She looked fairly annoyed, most likely from a combination of the alarm and the smoke that still filled the kitchen. Morro sighed, dropping his hands to his sides as she approached.

"We were-" He started, but broke off abruptly as Lydia slipped on the egg he hadn't completely cleaned up, falling with a yelp. Morro scrambled to catch her, but in doing so managed to kick the counter, and the cake pan, which was balanced precariously on the edge of the counter, wobbled and began to fall. All three teenagers moved to catch it, Karen rushing into the room as she did so – managing to knock the carton of eggs off the counter in the process.

Morro caught the pan at the last moment with his powers, but it still hit the floor, and the cake flew out, the charred top followed by the rest – which was mostly still raw. As they froze, staring at the mess of cake on the floor, the sound of breaking eggs caught their attention, and Lydia let out a shriek as one shattered on her foot, the empty carton clattering to the ground.

This brings us to the present.

"Well, I don't see how." Morro griped. "I just made a _huge_ mess, made a fool of myself in front of my girlfriend and best friend, and nearly set the kitchen on fire. I don't even know what I did wrong!"

"Well, if I had to take a guess…" Lydia squinted at the temperature the oven was set at. "I think it's supposed to be at 350 degrees, not 500." Morro blinked.

" _Oh._ "

"And honestly? It's okay. It's not a big deal, and this is actually pretty funny if you think about it." Lydia gave him a cheerful smile. "And the fact that you tried so hard is what counts, right?" Morro huffed.

"Not really."

"It counts for me. Now, please, go get the mop from the laundry room. And don't walk, your feet probably have egg on them."

"Is that bad?" He asked, picking himself up and starting to float away.

"Raw eggs can be poisonous, so, yeah." Morro and Karen exchanged glances. "You guys ate the batter, didn't you?"

"Yeah. Are we gonna die?"

"What? No, no, it'll just make you sick, and there's only a tiny chance that egg was poisonous anyway. I've eaten batter tons of times, and I've never gotten sick." Karen breathed a sigh of relief. "Now come on! Mop! Go!" Lydia waved him away.

For the next hour, the three cleaned the kitchen, which took a lot longer than it would have since Lydia _insisted_ on scrubbing down every single surface that _might_ have raw egg on it by hand (she freaked out just a little bit when Morro told her about the towel in the sink). Finally, they finished, the kitchen thoroughly soaked with water and soap and the oven hanging open a little bit to let the extra heat out.

"Now let's try that again." Lydia announced, tiptoeing through the damp kitchen to procure another box cake mix from the cupboard. "This time, just watch me, okay? Watch how I do things." Not a shock, since most of her cooking lessons were by example, but still Morro crossed his arms and pouted.

"I wanted to help."

"You can help a little bit. But I am _not_ cleaning the kitchen again, understand?" She pointed a spatula at him threateningly.

"I won't make another mess, I promise."

"Thank you. Now, go get another mixing bowl., please." She lifted the box to study the recipe as he nodded, floating over the wet floor into the pantry to get her a new one. This wasn't the same as making a cake for her, and now he had no gift for her birthday.

But, then again, he got to spend time with her, so this was almost as good.

* * *

 **This oneshot was a challenge to see how many gross cooking safety violations I could fit into one chapter.**

 **~FFF**


	8. Scars

**what? updates? what's that?**

 **sorry I got no time for replies, I got about 2 minutes to post this**

* * *

"Lydia, you look silly."

"Shut up, Morro." Lydia replied cheerfully, rolling her eyes at him from behind the chemical goggles she wore. "Just wait until _you_ have to learn to chop onions." Morro glanced at the white, round vegetable on the cutting board.

"So… what? How is it any different from any other vegetable you chop?" He leaned in closer to smell it, and immediately his eyes and nose began to sting. "Ow. Ow."

"See? Now don't make fun of me." She chided him, nudging him back with her elbow."

"Alright, alright." Morro rubbed his eyes, backing up. "Demon vegetable. Why do we _eat_ that?"

"Once it's chopped all the juice loses its' potency. It doesn't sting to eat it. Kinda burns if you eat it raw, by itself, though." Morro gave the onion a suspicious look.

"So… you cook it?"

"I eat it raw on hamburgers, but yeah, on most things I cook it. Like this." Lydia nodded towards the pans of chicken and rice on the stove. Morro shook his head.

"Can I pass on the onion?"

"Aw, don't be like that. It's good, I promise." She rolled her eyes, then looked back at the cutting board. Morro opened his mouth to respond, but before he had the chance the knife slipped, skidding a bit, and Lydia dropped the knife with a yelp, clutching her left hand with her right.

"Lydia!" Morro grabbed both her shoulders to steady her. "What happened? Did you cut yourself?" He didn't see any blood on the knife, so it couldn't be very bad. Lydia took a deep breath, then let it out.

"I'm fine. I didn't cut myself."

"Then what happened?"

"The knife slid." Morro blinked.

"But it didn't cut you.?"

"No, the sound just…" She trailed off, and started to reach for the knife again, but Morro grabbed her hand.

"Come on, what happened? What… what is this?" Morro noticed for the first time that one of her fingers was bent and scarred. "What happened here?" Lydia laughed.

"Oh, that's… that's a really funny story, really." Morro raised an eyebrow.

"Do tell?"

"So, when I was like, six, or something, I was walking my grandmother's dog in my backyard. Which was full of snow." Lydia kinda slid to the floor, and Morro followed her. "I wrapped the leash around my hand, the dog started running, and wouldn't you know it, my finger fractures. And I- I was a really stoic six-year-old. I didn't tell my parents my finger hurt, so it healed like thisssssss." She twisted her finger around so it was at an angle. Morro flinched.

"Like a year later, my parents noticed it looked weird, so they had it checked out and we found out what happened. It didn't hurt then, so we didn't do anything with it then, but a few years later it started hurting when I moved it, so we tried to get it surgically repaired. It didn't work. We tried again. It didn't work that time either." Lydia shrugged. "So, now my finger is stuck like this, a whole lot of money, time, and effort down the drain." Morro blinked.

"That's… a _lot_ more than it took for _me_ to get a crooked finger." Lydia blinked up at him curiously.

"You have a crooked finger?"

"Yeah. I broke a finger a couple times, and this one healed wrong." He held up his crooked pinky. "I broke it when I messed up a move while I was training with Wu, and I didn't tell him, so it just healed like this." She blinked again.

"Yeah, that sounds like something you would do." Morro snorted.

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?"

"Nothing." She carefully took his hand in hers, examining his finger. "You have… a lot of scars."

"Yeah." He gestured to a curved mark on the back of his hand. "This is from where I fell on a piece of glass as a kid." She turned his hand over, and he pointed to a smaller scar at the base of his thumb. "That's where a rat bit me." He gestured to a row of varying scars on his arm. "While I was a ghost, any wounds that didn't kill me immediately scarred, so quite a few of these are from training mishaps I had there." She frowned.

"Well, first off, that's fascinating, but second, that's a lot of mishaps."

"My teachers in the Cursed Realm weren't as gentle as Wu." Lydia's jaw clenched, then she shook her head.

"None of my scars have stories nearly so dramatic. Uh…" She gestured to a few scars on her upper arm. "Cat scratch, cat scratch, cat scratch," She pointed to a darker mark. "Got burned trying to put a lasagna in the oven." Morro laughed at that one. "I don't remember where half of these came from. Um, this is where Mocha bit me." She pointed to a tiny scar at the base of her thumbnail. " _That_ one hurt." Morro raised an eyebrow.

"That tiny cat?"

"Tiny cat, strong jaw." Lydia shook her head. "But yeah, I'm kinda clumsy. I have a fair number of scars."

"Hmm." Morro took her hand in his, carefully examining her bent finger. "All the technological genius you have in this world, and you can't get a finger to work right." Lydia rolled her eyes at him.

"Ninjago is _far_ more technologically advanced than Earth. Zane. We barely have basic AIs, much less thinking, feeling ones."

"Fair enough." Morro conceded. "So… if you weren't hurt, why did you react like that when the knife slipped?" Lydia flinched.

"It was… the sound, I guess."

"What? Why?"

"The sound of things skidding – like a knife on a cutting board, or a fork on a plate, or nails on a chalkboard – makes me think of… knives on bone." She shrugged. "It makes my finger throb and usually it takes me a few minutes to recover." Morro frowned.

"Why? It's not like knives had anything to do with your injury." Lydia stared at her hand.

"Yeah, stupid, isn't it?" Neither of them spoke for a few moments, then Lydia's head jerked up. "Crap, the food." She scrambled to get to the stovetop, pulling the goggles off and hurriedly stirring the pan of meat and vegetables. After a moment, she breathed a sigh of relief. "It didn't burn."

"Good." Morro leaned over and sniffed the steam rising from the sizzling food. "Mmm."

"It'll be even better once I add onions." She nudged him with her elbow, grinning, then turned back to the cutting board. As she reached for the knife again, Morro stopped her, catching left hand in his and lifting it to his lips. As she stared, he kissed the knuckle of her bent finger.

"Does that make it feel any better?" He asked, lowering her hand. Lydia was blushing, but grinned.

"Honestly? It does." She pressed the hand he had kissed to her lips, then turned and resumed cutting the onion. Morro chuckled.

"You are _so_ cheesy."

"Me? You just kissed my hand, like some Disney prince or something!"

"Yeah, well, you did the press-a-kiss-to-your-lips thing like a cartoon character."

"Funny _you're_ calling _me_ a cartoon character."

"I don't get it." Morro frowned, then his eyes shot open. " _Oh._ "

"Now you get it?" She reached back to muss his hair, but he was too tall. "Now stop harassing me, or I'll touch you with my oniony hands."

"I think you're gonna do that anyway."

"You won't know if you keep harassing me, will you?"

"But what would the fun in that be?"

"Is getting stabbed fun?"

"I'm gonna say no."

"Then back off."

"Alright, if you insist."

* * *

 **¯\\_(ツ)_/¯**

 **~FFF**


	9. Just Like Me

**Just a little Karen drabble feat. my new cat.**

 **You may also have noticed that several stories in this doc have vanished. Never fear, they're in a new story now! Check out "Oh the People we'll Meet".**

* * *

"Gentle." Lydia cautioned as Karen knelt, hair cascading over her shoulders and startling the tiny creature in front of her with the sudden movement. "Let him smell you." Cautiously, Karen extended her hand towards the beast, and he took a step closer to gently touch his muzzle to her fingers.

Immediately, he began to let our a low rumbling noise, and she jerked back as he rubbed his head against her hand.

"He's purring, he likes you!" Lydia told her with a laugh. Karen blinked, then extended her other hand as the cat - 'Selkie' - rolled over on his back, exposing his belly to her. "He likes belly rubs." The other girl informed her as she gently placed her hand on the cat's fur.

"Where did he come from?" Karen signed before going back to petting the cat.

"He just started coming here to eat." Lydia reached down and scratched his head. "And he's friendly. It could be he's lost- or he was dumped." Karen frowned, rubbing the grey cat's soft belly. Who could do that to such a beautiful creature?

"I think he was injured, too." Lydia guided her hand to the cat's tail, pressing her fingers to an odd bend. "His tail is crooked. He must have broken it. And these wounds behind his ears… they match. Like he was struck by something large, or maybe bitten."

Karen listened silently, observing the small creature's blissful expression as she gently scratched his chin with one fingernail. He enjoyed human touch far more than the other cats, they were more… independant. Even Moonbeam, and he was rather clingy.

"He purrs so loudly." Karen signed. Much louder than the other cats, which was how he had caught her off guard.

"Yeah." Lydia's smile was one of pure joy. "If he was mistreated, obviously he still likes people plenty."

"Lydia!" The door slammed open, and Selkie was on his feet in an instant, scrambling back as his ears perked straight up. "Sorry." Morro flinched, leaning halfway through the doorway. "Your mom needs your help."

"Ah. Kay. Karen, try and make sure Selkie doesn't attack any of the other cats, okay? He's a little bit of a brat." Lydia blew the cat an exaggerated kiss, then got to her feet and followed Morro inside. After a couple moments of studying the now-silent front door, Selkie approached her again, soulful eyes staring up into hers.

You know I'm not like them, don't you? Her telepathic abilities were long gone, but she still reflexively tried to use them almost constantly. In response, the small creature let his tongue peek out of his mouth and tilted his head at her. Precious beast. How could anyone bear to lose this?

Gently, gracefully, the cat stepped onto her knee, and she scratched him behind the ears. He purred, and his mouth opened for a moment - but, she noted, no sound came out. Was he…?

Selkie climbed onto her lap, and she shifted her pose to accommodate him. His claws dug into the fabric of her jeans, but not enough to feel like more than the barest pinprick. He pressed his head into her shirt, and she felt warmth blossom inside her chest. No wonder Lydia loved him so.

Gently, carefully, she wrapped her arms around him, and he curled up in her grasp, still purring like a small, soft engine. His eyes were closed, he looked absolutely at peace.

You're like me, aren't you? He didn't speak. Not as a cat would. He was mute - just like her. You know what it's like. And yet he could communicate his happiness plain as day. Were her emotions so plain, she wondered?

His eyes opened a slit to peer up with her, and for a moment, she looked into his eyes, and felt more of a connection than she ever had before. He understood. This poor, foolish beast, who knew only to survive, understood her. She couldn't explain the feeling, much less name it. But somehow, she just knew.

You're just like me. She bowed her head, pulling the purring cat closer to her chest. Just like me.

* * *

 **yeah so I know I havent been updating much, school started again and I am. incredibly busy. doing. school related things. and definitely not obsessing over another fandom I never do that**

 **~FFF**


	10. Revenge

**Yeah, yeah, I know, I haven't been updating, shh, it's fiiiinneee...**

 **no review replies because it's LATE also this is not proofread. or really well planned. or at all. i kinda just let the characters take over. Anyway read it.**

* * *

It was a normal day at Ninjago City High when she arrived.

Life at school had changed drastically for Lloyd Garmadon once the building had been rebuilt about a month ago. Due to media influence, he was now the most popular kid in school. And it was weird.

Girls would fawn over him in the hallways, gigging and looking away when he tried to make eye contact. He was always the first to be picked for any game. He had so many 'friends' he didn't know what to do with them, but tried to spend time with all of the groups fairly - leaving plenty of time for him to spend with his real friends, of course.

While some of his new fans genuinely seemed like they wanted to be his friend, not just trying to mooch off his popularity, Kai, Zane, and the other ninja would always be his closest friends. Outside of them, he was the closest to Morro, the shy goth kid who Lydia had befriended once upon a time. While he'd been biased against him at one point, as everyone had, he'd warmed up to him before the 'green ninja' revelation.

Life at home was different too. His father was able to get a low-level job fairly quickly, and along with his mom's income they were now able to afford a larger apartment. Not to mention Lloyd himself had acquired a small cash flow from citizens who felt like they owed him for treating him horribly all those years while he saved their lives.

He tried not to let the popularity go to his head, but he did take advantage of it, not arguing with grades rounded up, tardiness ignored, other students letting him cut in line, things like that.

He was, however, fairly uncomfortable with the 48 - and counting - dating proposals he'd received from girls in his classes, on the street, even while grocery shopping. He'd complained about it to Kai, but the red ninja had just blown him off, saying that if it was HIM, he'd be reveling in the girls being all over him. Poor Kai, being the red ninja didn't have quite the same appeal as being the green ninja.

Today, he'd opted to walk to school. While it meant he had to deal with lots of people talking to him, it also meant he didn't have to stay squished into a school bus with a bunch of giggling girls who didn't seem to realize that the bus seats had a limit of four people per bench. He could only take so many days of that in a row before he had to take a break.

So there he was, jogging along the sidewalk with his backpack slung over one shoulder, when a familiar voice called out,

"Lloyd!" He skidded to a stop, looking up for the source of the voice. A moment later, Lydia landed next to him, apparently having fallen from the sky.

"Hi!" She chirped as her boyfriend landed beside her, followed by her friend with the long hair. "Long time no see! Well, actually, I don't know. It's only been a little while in my world. How long's it been?"

"Uh." Lloyd blinked, still fairly stunned. "About five months."

"Oh oof, that's a long time." She scowled. "Put your backpack on right, you're gonna hurt your arms!"

"Okay, okay. You cut your hair." He commented as he pulled the other strap over his shoulder.

"Oh! Yeah, I got tired of long hair." She ran a hand through her - now slightly blue - hair. "Um, how's it going? How've you been?"

"Pretty good." He let his face break into a grin, finally getting over his initial surprise. "I'm, um, pretty popular now."

"Good! Then I did my job." Lydia grinned at her boyfriend, who kinda sighed, before turning back to him. "Are you on your way to school? There's something I need to do."

"I am, yeah, and what?"

"Oh, it's a secret." She snickered. "Okay, c'mon! Don't wanna be late!" She watched half a second for him to start walking, then began to skip down the sidewalk in front of them. The long-haired girl followed, gazing around in amazement at her surroundings, while Lydia's boyfriend - her Morro - took up the rear. It was really good to see Lydia again, but what in the world was she up to…?

Lydia and her group followed him to school, then vanished as soon as class started. She said something about not wanting to sit through any more classes than she already had to. He'd almost forgotten she was a college student- she still looked really young.

Around lunch, she reappeared. She reported that she'd already eaten, but had to do something here. She and her cohorts followed her into the cafeteria, then vanished into the crowd as Lloyd was swarmed by his fans. He didn't see much more of her until about 15 minutes later.

He kept glancing around for her during the meal, much to the confusion of his fans, who were crammed around his table all around him. However, he only caught a glimpse of her Morro, and that was just because he was tall. With Lydia, who blended in well with the dozens of girls her height, he didn't have a chance.

Until the room quieted, and heads began to turn in her direction, that is.

Lloyd craned his neck to try to see over the crowd, and finally spotted Lydia standing over by a table populated by mainly sportsmen. They used to be the most physical o his bullies. What was she…?

"Of course we remember you." One of the boys spoke at last. "You're the ***** we had to teach a lesson for making us your enemy."

"Wonderful! You remember." She clapped her hands together cheerfully. Were they the ones who beat her up…? "Now, obviously you've learned by now that I was right."

"That wasn't the proble-"

"Yeah, yeah. You'd say that. Anyway! I'm here to offer you a favor." A couple of the boys exchanged glances.

"A favor?" A different one asked.

"Yep!" Lydia replied cheerfully. "I've decided to let you apologize to me." A couple seconds of stunned silence, then the table broke into laughter.

"Are you serious? You can't be serious." Lydia just grinned. "Oh, come on. You couldn't beat us before, what makes you think you can make us do anything now?"

"So you're not accepting it?"

"**** of course we're not."

"You sure?"

"Yes."

"Absolutely sure?"

"***** shut the **** up."

"Okay! They refused!" Lydia turned away. "Morro, they're free game." At Lloyd's table, his Morro sat up straight in confusion. Her meaning was made clear, however, when her boyfriend walked casually up to the table, tapped one of the boys on the shoulder, and, when he turned around, socked him right in the jaw.

A chorus of murmurs followed the boy's stunned yell, and a couple of his friends jumped to their feet. "Who the **** do you think you are?!" The boy shouted angrily, rubbing his cheek where he was struck.

"Lydia's boyfriend." Morro nodded nonchalantly at Lydia. "I heard what you did to her. I plan to do the exact same thing to any of you who touched her."

"And what makes you think you can take us on, three on one?!" The boy snapped. Morro sighed.

"Let's get on with this." He stepped back to dodge a punch, then spun around and kicked the teenager in the head, causing him to crash to the ground with a howl of pain. Catching the next punch, aimed at his head, he twisted the boy's arm until he screamed and then threw him to the ground. The third, he just grabbed his head and held him at arms length when he threw himself at him, then shoved him to the ground behind him.

Lloyd tore shocked eyes away from the fight to stare at Lydia, who was watching the fight - if it could even be called that - with an absolutely sadistic grin on her face.

"You're gonna pay for that!" One of the boys bellowed, staggering to his feet, but Morro slammed his elbow into his face and he dropped like a rock. Numbly, Lloyd got to his feet and made his way through the crowd to Lydia's side.

"Is this really necessary?" He whispered, shocked. Lydia shrugged.

"They hurt me a lot. Morro just wanted to return the favor."

"He's gonna hurt them pretty badly."

"They hurt me pretty badly." Lloyd frowned, remembering how he found her after being attacked - curled up in the corner of a closet, bleeding, bruised, and scared.

"Still." He protested. "Tell him to stop."

"Aww, Lloyyydddd-"

"Lydia."

"Okay, fine. Morro!" Her boyfriend looked up, one eyebrow raised as he held a fist away from his face. "Lloyd says stop."

"Fine." Morro stepped back. "Should we go home?"

"Yeah. Find Karen." The girl popped out of the crowd next to them. "Nevermind."

"Lydia, listen. Can we talk?" His friend raised an eyebrow at him.

"Sure."

"You know I'm not happy about what they did to you. And you've done so much for me. But this isn't the answer. Revenge won't make you feel better, I know. I've held onto anger for so long." He lowered his voice to a whisper, fully aware of the dozens of people listening.

"You have to forgive them, please. Hurting them back won't make what they did to you not have happened, and they'll just harbor more anger against you in return. Just… forgive and forget, okay?" Lydia stared at him blankly for a few moments, and he started to worry that she wasn't remotely convinced. Finally, though, she sighed, and he froze up as she cupped his cheek with her hand.

"I forgot what a good kid you are." She admitted. "Okay. I'll forgive and forget. Can't guarantee the same with Morro, but we'll work on it." She grabbed him in a quick hug, then let go. "Morro, let's go!"

"Fine." The long-haired girl - Karen? - pulled the Realm Crystal out of her bag, and Lydia grabbed it, jumping up onto a table and creating a portal.

"See ya, suckers!" She yelled before vanishing into the portal, followed a moment later by the other two, and the cafeteria watched in stunned silence as the portal disappeared with a woosh. Lloyd stared after it for a moment, then abruptly realized that everyone was looking to him for a cue as to what to do next.

"It's, um… girls, y'know?" He gave them a halfhearted shrug. "Can someone get those three to the nurse? Thanks. Everyone else, go ahead and go back to your meals. We have classes again in 15 minutes."

* * *

 **yeah so I had literally no idea where that was going, like, the entire time I was writing it. i hope it kind of made sense regardless.**

 **Anyway. so, yeah, school started, and I also kinda... got sucked into another fandom. minecraft. I've spiraled back into my herobrine obsession.**

 **I actually WROTE a reader x herobrine fic. I showed candaru, and she likes it, so. should I post it here? vote now! there's a poll on my profile!**

 **anyway, hope you enjoyed this a bit. I'm going to bed now.**

 **~FFF**


	11. Taken In

Okay so this is a bit of a weird one, it takes place in OTTWCD verse, in movie ninjago, a couple years in the future. inspired by a prompt on the blog seasonal-brotp-prompts on tumblr. not proofread because i really need to go to bed but i wanted to post this so. whatever

* * *

"Wait, mom, wait-"

"No more! I've had enough of your lack of respect for school!"

"Mom I swear, I am trying, I'm even getting tutoring, I just-"

"Get _out_ of my house!" Hands shoved against his shoulders, and he tripped over the first step, crashing down onto the pavement outside. His head cracked against the concrete as the door slammed shut, and he let out a pained cry. An instant later, the cold hit him.

Groaning, Morro lifted his head an inch to be greeted by the sight of a locked door. Snowflakes fell lazily around him, coating the street with a fine layer too thin to break his fall. He reaches back to rub his head, and is met with a large, painful bump. No blood, though. Not that that meant he was okay.

Shivering, he carefully picked himself off, trying to dust the snow off his bare arms. His teeth are already chattering, rattling his skull, as he hugs his arms to his chest. Frostbite occurs when the cells in the dermis contract in an effort to conserve warmth for too long, right? If he stays in this cold for too long, he's definitely going to suffer.

Blinking away the faint stars in his eyes, he looks around, up and down the street. It's still and silent, lit only by two parallel rows of street lamps on either side. All the lights in the houses are off, except for a few in the dorm buildings across the street, but a bunch of drunk, sleep deprived, or both college students would barely be able to help him even if they cared.

Giving a final shudder, he starts to make his way down to the apartment building next door. Maybe one of them would let him stay in there tonight, even in the lobby would be better than out here.

He knocked at the doors, and yelled, but no one came. The night was silent. He tried the next building, but came up with the same result. The next building was a house, and he tried that door as well, only to be scared off by a man with a shotgun who wouldn't even let him stay long enough to ask for help.

Fingers and toes totally numb, Morro huddled up against a wall that ran along the dorms, blowing into his hands to keep blood circulating. If nothing else, at least the wall would protect him from the wind.

He sat there, back pressed up against the rough stone through the thin protection of his tank top, for at least half an hour before he heard a sound - a door squeaking from the dorms. Shivering, he pulled his knees up to his chest and buried his face in the fleece of his pajama pants. He wished he could go to sleep.

He heard the sound of a dumpster being opened, and lifted his head, but the fabric tickled his nose and he sneezed. Resting his head on his knee again, he stared off down the street, wondering if he could try to get a driver to help him if a car ever came.

"Hey." A voice above his head startled him, and he gasped, jerking his head back and hitting it against the wall. Hissing in pain, he squinted up at the silhouette above him. "You okay?"

"N-no." He stammered out through his chattering teeth. "G-got l-locked out, d-don't have a w-warm place to g-go." He normally wouldn't talk to strangers at all, much less ask for help, especially after the ones he had already tried, but he was so cold...

"Oh my- okay, c'mon, get up. Let's get you inside." The figure vaulted over the short wall, then offered him a hand. Morro accepted it, letting him pull him to his feet, and marveled at how warm the man's hands are. The man didn't let go, apparently coming to the same conclusion, and sandwiched Morro's hand between his own to warm it as he lead him towards the buildings. "I'm Kai, by the way." The man introduced himself, and Morro blinked up at him in the dark.

"K-Kai Smith?" Kai glanced down at him, and in the faint light shining from the dorm windows Morro could make out his features. He still had his signature spiky hair and warm brown eyes, with the small addition of a goatee and a prominent scar on his cheek.

"I kn-knew you in high school." Morro elaborated, shaking his head a bit. "B-before it came out you were a n-ninja." Kai frowned at him for a moment, then recognition dawned on his face.

"Morro?" Morro gave him a small nod. "Oh my g-I haven't seen you in years! Where've you been?" Kai lifted one hand to rumple his hair, and Morro managed to disguise his grimace as a smile.

"J-just across the s-street, I guess." This apparently reminded Kai of the cold, and he quickened his pace, leading him up to the building and pushing the door open. Morro shuddered at the rush of warmth that hit him as Kai lead him to a flight of stairs.

"We're on the top floor." He tells him.

"W-we?" His teeth hadn't stopped chattering.

"Jay, Cole and I bunk together. Lloyd gets a free dorm right on campus, the little stinker, and Zane doesn't need to go to college."

"A-and Nya?"

"Going to a university on the other side of the continent. We'd just finished calling her when I went out and found you." Morro made his way up the last few steps, and Kai let go of him to fish a key out of his pocket and let himself into one of the rooms. "C'mon," he prompted, and Morro followed him inside.

The dorm was fairly lavish, with a living space, a bedroom, and a separate kitchen and dining room. Two young men were sprawled on the couch in front of a TV, loudly trash-talking each other as they button-mashed on their controllers. Cole and Jay. They looked about the same, both clean-shaven, though Jay's hair was shorter now.

Cole's eyes flickered over to them as they entered the room, and immediately he sat up straight, pausing the game. Jay spun to yell at him, but caught a glimpse of him and stopped.

"Hey guys, look what the cat dragged in." Kai joked, grabbing Morro's cold hand again and leading him into the room.

" _Morro_?" Jay exclaimed. "What're you doing here? I mean, not that I mind, but..."

"I found him outside in the cold. I'm not sure what happened yet, but he says he got locked out. Can you guys grab some blankets and heat up some rice? He'll need something warm." The two sprung up off the couch, scrambling to oblige. Kai lead Morro over to the couch and sat down, prompting him to sit beside him, and Morro curled his feet underneath him as he sat on the corner cushion. He was already feeling much better than he had been outside, but his body was still shaking like a leaf.

Cole returned with a couple blankets, and Morro accepted them from his waiting hands, wrapping them tight around himself and burying his nose in the flannel. Kai placed a hand on his shoulder, and he was startled by the warmth flowing into his body. He's the fire ninja, isn't he? Is this his powers?

Jay soon returned with a bowl of rice and a spoon, and Morro set it on his lap, crossing his legs under the blankets as the others crowded around him. He took a small bite, but decided it was too hot and returned the spoon to the bowl. Looking up at the expectant faces surrounding him, he opens his mouth and managed a,

"Th-thank you."

"Just tell us what happened." Jay knelt on the floor next to the couch, looking up at him with bright blue eyes. "How'd you get caught out there?"

"M-my mom kicked me out." He answered in a small voice. "My grades were down again."

"Down?" Cole echoed. "Morro, you were two grades ahead when we knew you! What happened?"

"I… had some issues." He pushed the rice in his bowl in a circle. "I came down with clinical depression. It was so bad I could barely focus on my studies. I had to repeat a year twice, then dropped down a grade, I was showing up to school as little as only a day a week and almost never did my homework. I just didn't care." It felt… really good to tell them all this, swaddled in blankets with food and warmth and no immediate danger. "My parents… didn't like that.

"My mom was really really proud of me when I could skip up through the grades, she was prompting me to go to college early and become a doctor. When I stopped being so successful, she was… not very nice to me. My dad didn't help. I really just wanted…" his voice dwindled to a whisper. "For a long time, I just wanted to die.

"But I lived through it, and I'm getting better. I'm really trying hard to get my grades back up, but apparently a counselor called my mom to talk about my grades again, and tonight she kicked me out." He took another bite of rice, feeling small under their the pressure of their gaze. "I tried to find a warm place to spend the night, but I couldn't. Thank you for letting me in."

"Oh, of course. **** your mom." Kai sounded stunned. "Listen, if you ever need something, we're here, okay? If you need a place to sleep, someone to listen, money, clothes, you name it, we'll help. Stay here as long as you need to, and if your mom comes knocking we'll give her a knocking she won't forget."

"D-don't beat up my mom, please." Morro stammered, but he smiles. "Th-thank you, though."

"Don't mention it." Kai ruffled his hair again, and this time he couldn't stop a whimper from escaping him as the bump on his head was agitated. "Hey- are you hurt?" He gave a tense nod, and leaned his head forward, lifting a hand from beneath the blankets to brush the knot on his skull.

"M-my mom pushed me and I fell and hit my head." Kai's face morphed into a scowl.

"Cole, get some ice and ibuprofen." Cole hopped to his feet and ran off. "Can I see?" Morro nodded, and Kai brushed his hair aside to take a better look. Morro bit his lip at the pain, but was distracted by Jay's voice.

"You ditched the green." He gestured to his hair, and Morro gave him a pained smile.

"Too much work for me to deal with during that time."

"Ever thought about putting it back? I always thought it gave you a really cool vibe."

"Kinda. But I still don't have the time or money to."

"Well…" Jay's eyes sparkled. "If I got the equipment, would you be down to let me dye it for you?" Morro blinked.

"I-I'd really like that."

"Then it's a date. Come back here after school tomorrow, okay?"

"It's Friday, Jay, there's no school tomorrow." Kai reminded him. Jay blinked.

"Oh! I forgot. College life." He let out an exaggerated sigh. "Do you wanna stay here tomorrow? After what your mom did… I wouldn't think you'd wanna go home quite yet."

"I-I can't just live here, not for long." He protested, flinching as Kai prodded at his head. "Th-there's rules about-"

"Hey, we're practically celebrities." Cole's voice interrupted him, and Morro looked up to see him returning with a bag of ice, a towel, and a glass of water. "Minor rules usually don't apply to us. Stay here as long as you want."

"But-"

"You got a phone?" Kai interrupted again.

"Y-yeah, at home."

"Here." Removing his hands from his head, Kai stood, and Cole took his place to gently press the ice to the back of his head. Morro watched as Kai grabbed a slip of paper, scribbling on it before hurrying back to the couch. "My number." He explained as he pushed it into his hand. "If you ever need help, call me, got it?" Morro gave him a speechless nod. Kai touched his arm again before walking away, and Morro closed his eyes for a moment at the rush of warmth.

"You tired?" Cole's voice came from behind him, and he mumbled a 'yeah'. "Take these." A hand with two pink pills appeared in front of his face, and he picked them up, feeling Cole pull his hand away as he swallowed them with a glass of water. The earth ninja replaced the ice on his head as he took another bite of rice, which was getting cool, but he didn't mind. He hadn't eaten in a few hours.

The throbbing in his head began to subside as he shoved Kai's number in his pocket, and he heard soft voices in the background as he ate the rest of the rice. Eventually, Cole removed the ice and left, and he was alone on the couch.

When he was done eating, he paused, staring down at his dirty dishes and wondering if he should get up and put them in the kitchen. Before he could decide, a hand pulled them from his grip, and he looked up to find himself staring into Kai's warm eyes.

"Here, scoot over for me." Morro obliged, and Kai set down a fluffy pillow against the arm of the couch. "You can lie down if you want, okay? Me and the boys are goin' to bed."

"Okay." Kai started to walk away, and Morro quickly spoke up again. "Thank you."

"No problem." The fire ninja flashed him a smile before disappearing into the bedroom, and Morro curled up on the couch, resting his aching head on the pillow. He felt safe, wrapped up in the warmth and the dark instead of the cold and the glaring light of the streetlamps. He felt a tiny flame of hope ignite in his heart, warming his chest.

Maybe life didn't have to hurt after all.

* * *

 **breaking news: he is good**

 **~FFF**


End file.
